After working to grow OU’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter, recent graduate Katelyn Howard earned the 2020 Julie Galvan Outstanding Graduate in Journalism Award from SPJ.
According to a press release from SPJ, “this award honors a journalism graduate nominated by their campus chapters and selected by the Society's leaders on the basis of character, service to the community, scholarship, proficiency in practical journalism and significant contributions to their SPJ chapter. The award is named in memory of Julie Galvan, a former president of the SPJ San Jose State University Campus Chapter, who was killed in a car accident while on her way to an internship in 1996.” Howard was recognized virtually during the SPJ 2020 Journalism Conference in September.
Howard, who came to OU from Midland, Texas, joined the group as a sophomore. As chapter president, she began to focus on reviving attendance and participation. These efforts included providing engaging and helpful programming, which included panels about immigration reporting to making podcasts and everything in between. OU SPJ earned the Outstanding Campus Chapter Award for Region 8 in 2018-19.
During the fall 2019 semester, Howard continued to lead the club while interning at SiriusXM Radio in New York City. As an undergraduate student, Howard also interned The Journal Record and The Poteau Daily News and worked at the OU Daily and OU Nightly. Howard and other Gaylord students also traveled to Iowa to cover the 2020 Democratic caucuses.
In January 2019, Howard started working as a part-time student at KGOU, which led to her current full-time role as reporter/producer at the radio station.
Howard said she was surprised and happy when she learned she had received the award, especially since she did not know she had been nominated, Howard added she is grateful that Yvette Walker, assistant dean of student affairs and SPJ advisor, and a couple of the chapter’s other officers, took the time to fill out the nomination form for her.
“It made me feel good to have recognition for the work that I had put in as a student journalist over the past four years, but it also made me feel good that SPJ is recognizing the work of student journalists and is finding value in the work that student journalists do.”
For Howard, Gaylord College gave her many of the resources that she needed to be successful as a journalist. She said she loved her classes because they taught a mix of skills she would need after graduation.